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laios is a stubborn man, that much is obvious. the execution of the king from the last painting didn't really phase him enough, since he decided that he'll be jumping in the painting once again.

and so here he is, dropping in one of the chairs in the dining hall with unfamiliar people, watching as the prince named delgal from the other paintings kneeled down on one knee, and a crown was placed on his head.

'looks like it's the coronation day. the prince from earlier inherited the crown?'

he thought, but his thoughts were interrupted when he caught a whiff of the food on the table.

once again, laios didn't care much about what's happening. the coronation day of the prince— now turned king, didn't matter. what truly matters is...

'a full-course of court cuisine!'

there are multiple plates in front of him that had freshly cooked food, and laios felt himself drool a little from the delicious aroma in the air.

"i shall pray for the eternal prosperity of the country and its people."

the king spoke, and raised the huge cup of wine to his lips with everyone following suit, drinking from their own cups.

laios looks around in pure confusion before he copied what they were doing, taking big gulps of his wine.

'delicious.'

he licked his lips with a smile as he finished, enjoying the after taste of the sweet beverage.

when the people around him started eating, he began to dig to his own food and went straight for the chicken, completely unaware of the watchful gaze that stared at him from the other side of the dining table.

'that man...'

the stranger thought to herself, her eyes that were covered by her veil going wide. he's not anyone she's familiar with, and stands out more as a trespasser.

'i thought it would taste like paint, but it's a real feast!'

laios was inhaling everything in front of him, getting way too carried away. once he started, he couldn't stop.

"uhm, excuse me. can i please have seconds?"

he asked the servant passing by, who only gave him a weirded out stare, a few of the people sitting near him doing the same.

'oh man, that was great.'

laios sighed in bliss as he leaned against the backrest of the chair, taking a few seconds to rest before he got up.

'alright, time to get going.'

by now, everyone was gone. there was no one else in the room except for him, and laios was ready to leave while he has the chance.

before he could tug on the rope, something caught his attention.

he didn't even notice that the woman from before was also here in this one, and now she stood by the same spot where the king had been coronated at.

the rays of sun from outside beamed down on her, and laios could've sworn he saw an angel right then and there, only if the angel happens to be the angel of death.

he black veil and dark dress really made her stand out compared to anyone in this place, and laios found it ridiculous that he didn't even notice her the first time. maybe he was too hungry to pay attention to his surroundings.

out of pure curiosity, laios approached the woman but kept his distance, simply watching her in wonder.

"...have i piqued your interest, kind sir?"

he almost jumped out of his skin when the woman suddenly turns to him, and laios looks around nervously for a moment. there was no one else there but the two of them.

"you've been there for a while, and now i find you staring at me. are you perhaps an individual that i should be wary of?"

"oh, no! nothing of that sort! i'm just a knight in the castle..."

laios quickly thought of an excuse, lying through his teeth.

"is that so? well, care for a little chat, sir knight?"

he should really be going right now, but laios was far too curious to pass up the chance. he was quite interested in what the living paintings has in store after all.

"sure, i wouldn't mind at all."

"i am glad to hear that."

the woman made her way to one of the steps, sitting down on it and patting the space next to her.

"come, sit with me."

laios hesitated but did as told eventually, keeping an appropriate distance with her.

"today was wonderful, don't you think so too? the prince has finally become the king of the country, and he is even expecting a child soon."

"uh, yes... i think so too. a very... uhm, great day. i'm happy for king delgal."

the woman chuckled at his clumsy response, but didn't comment on it.

"say, how long have you been a knight here? you look quite new."

"just a few months ago, miss... i moved in here from another country, so i'm still a newbie."

"interesting. so that's why you seem unfamiliar to me. i have memorized everyone's faces and name in this country, so i was a bit confused as to why i don't recognise you at all."

she tilts her head, and laios could faintly see through her veil from the split second the sun ray shines down on her.

"i guess it is safe to say that this is our first meeting. may i know your name?"

"oh! i uhm..."

'should i tell her my real name? the painting might use it to its advantage... can it outsmart humans like that?'

"my name is... falin!"

laios mentally winced when there was a small pause between them right after he said those words.

'sorry falin!'

"falin? is that so? nice to meet you then, sir falin."

the woman finally said, a hint of amusement in her tone.

"i cannot tell you my real name, for my own safety. but since you told me yours, i will tell you the name that my mother used to call me."

this made laios raise a brow, having so many questions running through his head. first of all, why can't she say her real name? is someone gonna assassinate her the moment she does just like what happened to the king? laios has no clue.

nonetheless, he kept quiet, waiting for the woman to continue what she was saying.

"you may call me artemis for now, sir falin."

"artemis..."

laios trailed off before nodding.

"nice to meet you, artemis."

"likewise."

artemis tilts her head to the side, and laios could imagine a smile on her face. not that he knew what her face looks like in the first place...

"if i may ask, what reason did you have to move in this country?"

laios found it strange how talkative artemis is, considering they were complete strangers. wasn't she at the very least suspicious of him? there's no way anyone can be this friendly to strangers after the assassination of the king.

despite that, he engaged with a conversation with her. surprisingly, he actually enjoyed talking to her. he even forgot the fact that he's in a painting, and has been inside it for quite a long time now, too engrossed by the interesting woman who he now knows as "artemis".

one of the reasons why he doesn't care enough to leave yet was because artemis actually shows interest in his monster hobby.

"so you're saying... that you have eaten many deadly things such as monsters? unbelievable... is such thing even possible?"

"of course! with the right technique and recipe, you can have a full-course monster meal that you can actually enjoy. they have very unique flavours snd textures, and sure it may be weird at first but they're actually really good!"

laios explains like an excited kid, as artemis listens to him intently.

"impressive... while i cannot say that i will be trying one for myself, i cannot deny that it does make me quite curious."

"trust me, that's what i thought at first too but really, if you think about it monsters just like animals, they're just a lot more dangerous and rar—"

the young man completely stops talking when he noticed something, and he suddenly became serious.

"atermis, don't move."

"huh?"

laios reach up, his brows furrowed in concentration. atermis grew worried, thinking that he was planning to snatch her veil off.

"don't panic, but there's a spider on your head. i'll get it off of you, don't worry. just don't move."

"oh..!"

atermis lets out a sigh of relief and kept still, relaxing once again. looks like he's not such a suspicious person after all.

"i got it—! oh...."

ah, nevermind. she takes that back.

laios felt his jaw drop to the ground, in his hand not only the spider, but the black veil he snatched off of atermis accidentally.

he wanted to apologise and beg for forgiveness before she could end his life or something, but he couldn't say anything at all.

because the person he saw right in front of him wasn't just any stranger.

"[name]?"

laios blinked a few times before rubbing his eyes, and looking at the girl in front of him.

atermis looks at him in bewilderment, gasping as she backs away.

"you... how do you..."

"lady atermis!"

laios jumped out of his skin when guards stormed inside the room out of nowhere, running to their direction as atermis turns her back on them, hiding her face as best as she could.

laios looks back at atermis for one last time before bolting it out of there, avoiding the guards somehow and running out the halls.

"no, stay away...!"

was the last thing he heard from atermis before he rounds a corner and hides inside a room, panting slightly.

laios waited for a few seconds before peeking out the hallway, sighing in relief when he heard the faint sounds of footsteps all the way to the opposite of where he was.

once he made sure that it was safe, he takes careful steps out of the room and was about to tug on his rope when suddenly—

'oh crap, it's the same elf.'

laios sweats slightly at the sight of the dark-skinned elf that he had seen before in the other paintings.

the elf was staring at him with wide eyes, and laios gulped as the elf reached out and pulled him down by the silver armour protecting his neck and staring right in his soul with their glare.

laios yelped, trying to lean away as best as he could.

"what are you doing here, outsider?

the elf asked, not given him a chance to answer as he pulls him closer.

"i remember. you were there when the prince was born and in his wedding. what do you want? are you after the throne?"

laios gasped as he felt heat spark near his neck, and the elf's hand ignited and melted his neck armor.

laios tried to back away while tugging on the rope in panic, hoping that his party would pull him out as soon as possible and when he says possible, he means now.

"i will burn your flesh to ash!"

"thistle, wait—!"

laios heard artemis shout but he didn't have time to react when he was suddenly pulled up by the rope around his waist.

he came flying out of the painting and landed on something fluffy, groaning.

[name] used one of her wings and caught him just in time, tucking him under.

"ooooh, soft..."

"what happened in there? you were tugging like crazy..."

laios peeks from under the feathers, looking like he was just revived from the dead.

"something horrible happened..."

"please tell me you got to eat at least, because if you didn't then we are NOT gonna waste any more time in this."

chilchuck glares at him, and laios quickly waves his hand.

"no no, i got to eat! there was actually a huge feast in there. i ate as much as i could and was about to leave, but then i met a woman atermis..."

laios paused when he remembered something, and he glanced up at [name] who had looked away, staring elsewhere. he brushed it off for now though. he figured that if he did start asking questions, they're not gonna be answered anyways, and would only cause more confusion.

he'll deal with it once [name] is back to normal, or at the very least in speaking terms.

"she kinda just distracted me from getting out, but it was fun talking to her..."

laios explained further, not mentioning the part where the woman looks exactly like a certain girl in their party.

"it was actually going well, but then i kinda just messed things up. guards appeared and tried to catch me, but i escaped. there was another problem though, and it's actually the reason why i wanted out immediately."

laios held the silver plate of the armour around his neck with a frown.

"then someone came and actually noticed that i didn't belong there and grabbed my collar, trying to burn me to death... he looked so pissed off."

he shivered, and marcille sighed.

"well, you did crash his party so that's expected."

"uwah... i was so scared..."

the young man continues to sulk, looking like a kicked puppy under th feathers that had him wrapped like a burrito.

"h-huh? wait, how come i'm hungry again?"

laios made a noise of confusion as he touched his stomach that began growling.

"i had the best meal of my life... and somehow, none of it came back with me!"

"ugh, see? we just wasted our time here!"

"seriously?! you took all your sweet time inside too!"

"mmhhnn..."

[name] hummed with a deadpan, watching them argue like children with her chin rested in her arms.

"i agree with you, [name]."

senshi nodded while looping his rope properly.

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"don't be so dramatic, it's not like she's gonna go somehow far away. she'll just be in another room."

"but..!"

currently, marcille was hanging off of [name]'s hand as she sobbed out pathetically, the serpent girl simply glancing around everyone in confusion. she probably thinks she caused this, and have no idea how to fix it.

"marcille, don't be such a crybaby. tough it out, she's not gonna go missing on you again, she's just sleeping in another room that's like, right next to ours."

"but what if she gets attacked by something? what about our CHILDREN?! have you ever thought of that, chilchuck?! no, you probably don't! you don't look like you have a child in the first place!"

the elf cried out dramatically as she held onto [name]'s wrist like a sloth, while chilchuck just stares at her, unimpressed and too tired to even argue.

"not you too, laios."

he grunted, seeing the tall-man sulk while patting [name]'s tail.

"i'll miss sleeping in your beautiful tail roll, [name]..."

"you guys are so DRAMATIC. she's not leaving forever, she's just gonna sleep somewhere else for the night because she doesn't fit in the room!"

chilchuck rubbed the spot between his eyes, groaning.

"okay, how about this? if you're so concerned about the eggs, then we can ask [name] for permission to let us take it in the room for the night."

marcille hesitates but sighed, giving up.

"okay, fine..."

"what about me? i can just sleep with her outside, you know."

laios points to himself, perking up and chilchuck shoots him a glare, which was enough of an answer for him.

"aww..."

and so the young man says his goodbye to [name] who was very confused about the whole interaction, but waved the four goodbye nonetheless.

"here, [name]. it may not be much, but you can keep your hood-bag on to keep yourself warm for the night."

senshi hands the girl the pouch where she had her eggs in.

"we're keeping watch of your children for the night. is that alright with you?"

[name] glanced at her eggs, then back down at senshi and nodded. a night where she doesn't have to stay half awake while worrying for her children's safety from a random predator attack? heck yeah brother.

while the group made their way inside the room they had chosen for the night, chilchuck lingered around the hallway for a little longer, staring at a certain room right next to theirs.

he noticed something peculiar, and immediately knew what it was.

'a mimic... should i tell everyone about it?'

the sight of the monster disguising itself as a treasure chest made his stomach flip around out of fear and anxiety. he didn't have the best experiences with mimics.

'...nah. laios will just fuss about it anyways.'

he decided against telling everyone about it, trying to push the unpleasant memories of the many times a mimic either killed him or got him killed.

meanwhile, [name] had found herself a comfortable spot to sleep in for the night right by the huge room not too far from where her party is. she wasn't worried for any monsters at the moment. she can easily crush them even with the mana sickness.

the only reason she held back from doing so before, was because she had something fragile to protect.

it was a bit uncomfortable, sleeping in an empty room with nothing but a hood to use as a blanket. the nest she made was so much better than this.

but what other choice does she have? she's far too large to fit in the room where everyone else is at.

so she'll just have to tough it out for now. it's not like it's that bad anyways, it's only for one night.

ever since she reunited with everyone, she managed to avoid the scary nightmares that plagued her head every night. maybe it was all thanks to the warmth surrounding her, letting her know that she's not alone.

it's not the same for tonight. the cold floor was all she had. and so unfortunately, just like the first few nights she spent alone, her nightmares decided to give her a little visit.

it was just darkness for a while, the kind of darkness you'd see while you're in the middle of falling asleep, and then there's light.

"in a situation where multiple threat has you cornered, what do you do?"

it was as if she's living through another one of her vivid memories. this time, [name] is sitting on a chair with her hands on the table, her mother standing on the opposite side of her.

not knowing the answer to her question, [name] stumbled over her own words, attempting to come up with an answer.

"i... t-try—"

"wrong. there is not such thing as 'trying' in a situation like that. you either succeed or die. you cannot choose to die trying."

[name] flinched, a hand slamming in front of her as her mother glared at her.

"in a situation like that, you kill. you hear me? it's either them, or you. would you rather let them violate and take your life simply because you believe that killing is 'bad'? or would you rather defend your right to live and get rid of the threat that are trying to take that away from you?"

[name] was terrified. a child could only take so much before they break from such a heavy topic that they weren't even supposed to hear about in the first place.

"this world is not like kind to us, [name]. in every corner, you'll have people after your head for simply existing. remember that always, to fuel the anger in your heart. we did nothing wrong, and yet we can't live our lives normally without people pointing their blades at us."

'but i didn't have anger in my heart' was what [name] would like to say, but it would be a lie. maybe at that time, the childish part of her didn't want to believe that people really wanted to kill them. she wouldn't know, it's not